Would you consider drinking at a bar if it was mandatory that you take a breathalyzer test before your next drink or exit the bar? Well it may not be up for discussion in your state currently, but in Utah there is a proposal to place Breathalyzer-type devices in bars to determine if a bar customer is sober enough to drive, according to Fox News.

Draper Republican Rep. Greg Hughes has launched a legislative effort that would place these devices in bars or places where alcohol is served in order to to reduce the amount of drunk driving in Utah.

If the Utah representative’s measure is enacted into law in Utah, bars would not be obligated to install the machines. One of the goals though, is to also reduce a bar’s liability for customers who would not be, “aren’t held responsible for customers who fail a breath test but decide to drive anyway,” reported Fox News.

Customers may feel a bit edgy about considering their own legal liability about taking the test and whether or not the results will be kept and used against them by legal authorities. Others may raise concerns about privacy issues that may seem invaded if legal authorities are keeping the information to track their drinking behavior as permanent evidence.

Bar owners have their own concerns about the placement of the breathalyzer devices in their bars. Some worry about the accuracy of the devices. The owner of Garage on Beck in Salt Lake City expressed his feelings by stating that customers may register, “ a lower level of alcohol than they expected and cause them to drive when they normally should not,”according to Fox News.

Some state leaders like Representative Greg Hughes are more concerned with the drunk driver traffic deaths in Utah which accounted for approximately 10 percent of the traffic deaths on the state’s roads in 2010.

Maybe one day these devices will be mandatory in all bars across America. But for Utah, the placement of breathalyzer devices in bars may be one more measure in helping to save lives in the state.

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Kevin Fobbs is the former community concerns columnist for 12 years with The Detroit News, covering community, family relations, domestic abuse, education, government relations, education, and dispute resolution. He was government and civic affairs director for Soul Source, a Christian news magazine, and host of The Kevin Fobbs Show. His faith-based Hearken The Watchmen column provides insight and answers on family, faith, and how to arrive at faith-based solutions to life challenges. You may contact Kevin with your comments and questions.